Binu John's WeblogMusings of a Performance Engineerhttps://blogs.oracle.com/binublog/feed/entries/atom2011-06-14T11:45:10+00:00Apache Rollerhttps://blogs.oracle.com/binublog/entry/if_i_twitter_does_itIf I Twitter does it matter?binu 2009-03-23T09:50:02+00:002009-03-23T18:00:48+00:00I finally got a twitter account, but was confronted by the question - <span>If I twitter and I don't have any followers, am I really tweeting? To me, this was </span><span>akin to the century old question, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?</span><p>It looks like everyone is twitter-ing these days. You cannot watch a cable news show or read an article without some reference to a 'tweet'. Even a <span class="variant">septuagenarian who did not do e-mail six months ago </span>has turned into a prodigious Twitter-er (Yes, I am talking about <a href="http://twitter.com/SenJohnMcCain">Senator McCain</a>). At this rate, it won't be long before Descrates' famous saying is morphed to &quot;I tweet, therefore I am&quot; (if it hasn't already). </p>
<p>I didn't have a twitter account, and I was starting to feel a little inadequate. I could feel 'Captain Peer Pressure' bearing down on me and his words, &quot;everyone is doing it&quot;, echoing in my ears every day. So finally I broke down and got a twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/treesfall">account</a>. But I didn't know what to say. So I looked around to see what others are tweeting - There were people swearing in traffic, a guy informing the world that he is ready to go for a run and my favorite TV personality, Rachael Maddow, saying , &quot;<span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">Now I've got the office door closed and am rocking out shamelessly to Branan&quot;. I get it, the point is to tell the world what you are doing, however trivial it is. So I posted my first update - </span></span><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">&quot;Writing a blog on why I joined Twitter&quot;. It felt good. Someone had invested money in buying the hardware, the storage, and the network equipments as well as spent time on building the software so that I could shout to the world that I was writing a blog at this very moment. </span></span><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">I felt so wanted. </span></span><span class="status-body"><span class="entry-content">That is when it hit me - There may not be anyone out there who is interested in knowing what I am doing. <br /></span></span></p><span>
<p>Now, this raised a philosophical question for me. If I twitter and I don't have any followers, am I really tweeting?&nbsp; This is akin to the century old question, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? I guess the answer depends on whether I need someone to validate the fifteen minutes that I spent in capturing (<span><span>in less than 140 characters) </span></span>the essence of the Taco that I ate for lunch. On the other hand, if I am confident about&nbsp; my place in this world and believe in spreading information whether people are listening or not, then every twitter update is worth storing for eternity. So which type am I? It depends on the day and I lurch from one to the other based on what is going on in my live. The fact that I am writing this blog without a clue as to whether anyone would ever read it should give you a hint as to how I feel today. Oh, that reminds me, I have to go tweet that I just finished my blog.<span></span></p></span>https://blogs.oracle.com/binublog/entry/youth_volleyball_spring_2009_seasonYouth Volleyball League - Spring 2009 seasonbinu 2009-03-19T11:43:41+00:002009-03-19T18:43:41+00:00<a href="http://www.usyvl.org/">United States Youth Volleyball League (USYVL)</a> is a non-profit organization that teaches volleyball to children aged 7 to 14. The Spring 2009 season runs from April 1 to June 6 and <a href="http://usyvl.countmein.com/ProgramDetail.aspx/ec633105-9a63-41a9-a8d7-3889719a9126">registration</a> is currently open. If you have a child who is interested in learning/playing volleyball, I invite you to check it out.<p><a href="http://www.usyvl.org/">United States Youth Volleyball League</a> (USYVL) is a non-profit organization that teaches volleyball to children aged 7 to 14. USYVL mission statement states the following - </p>
<p> </p>
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<td style="width: 100%; background-color: whitesmoke; direction: ltr;"> <font face="arial,helvetica,sans-serif">The United States Youth Volleyball League's mission is to provide every
child between the ages of 7 and 14 a chance to learn and play
volleyball in a fun, safe, supervised environment. One of the main
tenets of the program is to encourage children to do their best with
their abilities. With an emphasis on positive reinforcement, the
program seeks to build confidence and self-esteem in each child.</font></td>
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<p>From personal experience, I can say that this is a great organization where kids have lots of fun. The upcoming season will be my daughter's fourth season and my son's second. They are excitedly waiting for the new season to start. Over the last three seasons, I have been an assistant coach and a head coach before taking over the site director duties at the <a href="http://usyvl.countmein.com/ProgramDetail.aspx/ec633105-9a63-41a9-a8d7-3889719a9126">Cupertino site</a> <span class="BreadCrumb"></span>last season. I'll be handling that responsibility again this season.</p>
<p>The Spring season runs from April 1 to June 6 and registration is currently open. The <a href="http://usyvl.countmein.com/ProgramDetail.aspx/ec633105-9a63-41a9-a8d7-3889719a9126">Cupertino site</a> is located at the <span class="BreadCrumb">Quinlan Community Center (</span><span id="M_M_WPM_gwpLocationInfoPlaceHolderControl_LocationInfoPlaceHolderControl_LocationInfoLabel">10185 N Stelling Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014 <a href="http://usyvl.countmein.com/Map.aspx/0da7e515-8596-4180-94d9-7cc455a017c4">map</a>). Practices are at 6 pm on Wednesdays and games at 9:00 am on Saturdays. So if you have a child who is interested in learning/playing volleyball, I invite you to check it out. Please help me in passing the word around so that we can get kids hooked on to the wonderful game of volleyball at an early age.</span></p>
<p><span id="M_M_WPM_gwpLocationInfoPlaceHolderControl_LocationInfoPlaceHolderControl_LocationInfoLabel">Oh, one last thing. USYVL is almost entirely a volunteer organization and we need volunteers to keep this going. So if you are a parent who wants to get involved in your children's activities, here is your opportunity. <br /></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#ffffff">The United
States Youth Volleyball League's mission is to provide every child
between the ages of 7 and 14 a chance to learn and play volleyball in a
fun, safe, supervised environment. One of the main tenets of the
program is to encourage children to do their best with their abilities.
With an emphasis on positive reinforcement, the program seeks to build
confidence and self-esteem in each child.</font> </p>https://blogs.oracle.com/binublog/entry/now_i_knowToo much thinking ...binu 2009-03-12T22:49:10+00:002009-03-13T05:49:10+00:00A good post by Jonah Lehrer, <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2009/03/free_throws.php">Free Throws</a>, on how too much thinking while playing can in fact worsen your performance. This explains why my slap shots suck - I am thinking too much. It is the same pattern over and over again. Someone tells me the finer points of how to hit it correctly, I replay what they tell me in my mind during the shot and I get off a shot that is weak and off target. From now on, no more thinking ... just line up and whack at the puck.&nbsp;